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Three teenagers have died after being shot in the small Florida town of Ocklawaha. Police have said the victims knew each other and that they are investigating multiple suspects over the shootings.
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said that a 16-year-old girl, identified as Layla Silvernail, was found shot on the side of the road next to a dumpster on Thursday, March 30, and has since died of her injuries.
The following day, a 17-year-old boy was found dead in a different location with a gunshot wound. On Saturday, April 1, another 16-year-old girl was found dead in a separate location, also from a gunshot wound.
The third victim's body was recovered from Silvernail's car which was found partially submerged in a lake in Ocklawaha. Woods said police began searching for Silvernail's vehicle after they found the body of the male victim.
Police have not declared the identities of the male victim and the second female victim.
Speaking to NewsNation's Ashleigh Banfield on Tuesday, Woods said: "This is a very tragic event... in the size of the community out there in Ocklawaha. The bodies were found at three different times [in] three different locations."
The sheriff sought to clarify rumors that Silvernail was found in a dumpster. He said: "Our first victim, the 16-year-old female—she was not found in the dumpster. She was found alive but she was not in any condition to talk to my deputies, talk to investigators. She was actually lying on the ground just outside of the dumpster itself."
Woods said 15 investigators were working on the case since the night the first victim was found.
"They were together leading up to the event. Right now, everything that we have is connecting the event—it was all the same event although they were found in three different locations," he said.
Noting that Ocklawaha is a very small community, Woods said the first two bodies were found in the same subdivision and the third body was found in the vehicle.
Stating that further details of the ongoing investigation cannot be divulged, the sheriff said law enforcement is looking at "more than two" suspects, per information he has received. He said they know the location of the suspects.
No one is in custody at this point, according to Woods. Police believe there were multiple shooters on the scene.
Lieutenant Paul Bloom, public information director of Marion County Sheriff's Office, spoke to Newsweek about the ongoing investigation.
"Right now, we have not determined a potential motive for the shooting. I'm sure as the investigation progresses that may come to light," Bloom told Newsweek.
"Investigators feel this is an isolated incident and that all three teens were together when this occurred.
"We do not feel that there is a threat to the public and there is nothing to indicate that this is any type of a serial murder."
Update 4/6/23, 2:12 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Marion County Sheriff's Office.
About the writer
Gerrard Kaonga is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter and is based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. ... Read more